The Truth Comes Out: Small note in the 6-10 Times about G-8 ministers coming together to sign a "Stability Pact." One of the accomplishments of the pact is, "...pledging [Balkan, though it doesn't specificy which] governments to Western-style reforms..." "Western-style reforms" is, as we know, code-language for IMF-imposed austerity measures, which have visited horrors upon civilian populations the world over. The pact has allegedly been aimed at, "helping all the countries of the region," and Ms. Albright apparently likened the task to the Marshal Plan. Which, actually, is not an unfair comparison, given that the Marshal Plan offered much of the same painful medicine to the war-torn populations of Europe, its announcement touching off massive protests in the targeted countries, which had to be violently put down before the Plan could proceed.--Eddie Tews

The Truth Comes Out, Part II: A Washington Post/Associated Press article printed in the Times on the same day (amid much fanfare in the media generally about ethnic Albanians cheering the entrance of NATO troops into Kosovo; those troops, you see, to be guarantors of a "new political reality" for the beleagered Kosovars) did drop the following nugget: "To run what will be essentially a military government, NATO peacekeepers will have unlimited powers to control and govern the battered Serbian province. Their commander will have the authority 'to do all that he judges necessary and proper, including the use of military force,' to protect his troops and allow them to carry out their duties..." It will be noticed that the American military's "liberation" of Kosovo is already sounding much like it has so many times throughout this American Military Century. The Kosovar Albanians' "new political reality" can be summed up pretty easily: "Meet the new boss/Same as the old boss". Except, of course, that if history is any guide, the new boss will actually be even worse than the old boss.- -E.T.

But give the Times credit, for one of the most inadvertantly truthful banner headlines in its history. That was the front-pager last Saturday proclaiming that "Gore sells self in Seattle." The only thing that would have given a more accurate snapshot of Gore's whoring fundraiser visit is inclusion of the johns, as in, "Gore sell self to wealthy in Seattle."-- Geov Parrish

While U.S. businessmen are sending free cell phones to the Kosovo refugees, aid money has almost disappeared for African refugees. In Angola, for example, an estimated 1.6 million refugees are living under starvation conditions, with no U.N. money available to make aerial food drops to their isolated camps, which are cut off by UNITA rebels. What food is available is often inedible; the most recent shipment of U.S. corn to Angolan refugees was so discolored from spoilage that the refugees refused to eat it, preferring to take their chances with malnutrition, rather than food poisoning. In May, the World Food Program asked rich nations to give $8.8 million to airlift food to Angola. So far, only The Netherlands has responded with a pledge of $500,000. While Western politicians wring their hands over how to provide shelter for Kosovo refugees before fall arrives, winter has already arrived in the southern hemisphere. The disaster in Angola will make Kosovo look like a picnic by comparison. But will anyone notice? Don't hold your breath.--Maria Tomchick. Source: "Warehouses are empty for African aid," Knight Ridder, reprinted in The Seattle Times, 6/20/99, A18. By the way, has anyone else noticed the difference between Western media reports of the treatment of Kosovo Albanian prisoners by Serb militias versus how the KLA has treated Serbian prisoners and Kosovo Albanian "collaborators?" The Serbian militia killings, which are estimated at 10,000, are being reported as atrocities, while the KLA's killings--and the evidence of KLA prisoners being tortured to death--is being passed over lightly, with no estimates being done of the numbers dead or detained by the KLA. Why protect the KLA from scrutiny? Are not all human right violations "atrocities?"--M.T. See: "Kosovo: NATO troops curb revenge killings," P-I, 6/16/99, A1, and "Now it's the Serbs who need help," AP (reprinted in the P-I, 6/19/99, A4).

Bill Clinton, poster boy for Doublespeak, in a speech shortly after the suspension of the bombing, stated that the refugees' only hope had been, "...that the world would take a stand. We did for 78 days. Because we did, the Kosovars will go home." Clinton, ahem, "forgot" to add that there was not one refugee registered with UNHCR upon inception of the war, while there are now several hundred thousand. Whether the ethnic Albanians were fleeing the bombing itself or a Serbian crackdown initiated in response to the bombing can be debated (the truth probably lies somewhere between). But that the crisis was created by the bombing is incontrovertible. Clinton's deceptions are so transparent here, so blatantly misleading, that it's doubtful anyone actually believes them. Anyone, that is, save Clinton himself. It's difficult to believe that anybody could utter such obviously misleading words with a straight face without believing them. And believing one's own lies is, of course, the essence of Doublethink. -- E.T

Slade Gorton still belongs to the exclusive club of millionaire senators. Financial disclosure forms reported that his wealth comes mostly from his share of the family's Boston fish-packing company; his portion is worth somewhere between $1 and $5 million (the forms don't ask for a specific number, only a range is required). The business paid him between $15,000 and $50,000 in dividends last year. Nice work if you can get it...but there's more. In addition to his senatorial salary of $136,700 per year, Gorton also earned a cool $100,000 in capital gains from his "blind" trust last year, which is worth somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000. (As you'll remember, Congress passed tax laws a couple of years ago to decrease capital gains taxes, ostensibly to benefit "working families." Ha ha.) In addition, Gorton owns two houses--one in Washington, D.C., and one in Bellevue, WA. Because his Bellevue home is not considered an investment, he is only required to report the value of his D.C. house, which is worth between $250,000 and $500,000; it also has a basement apartment that netted him between $5,000 and $15,000 in rent last year. Gorton also accepted two privately funded trips in 1998, including a week-long vacation to Bermuda with his wife, paid for by the Aspen Institute. On the other side of the aisle, Patty Murray and her husband sock away their savings in a variety of mutual funds worth between $118,000 to $520,000.--M.T. Source: "Gorton and Murray differ on finances as well as politics," Michael Paulson, P-I, 6/14/99, A3.

Genetically altered plants aren't just for agriculture anymore. Soon they may be showing up in your neighborhood flower garden. The biotech firm Florigene of Melbourne, Australia has announced the launch of a line of genetically engineered violet carnations, according to the British magazine New Scientist. The carnations have been modified with a gene from petunias which creates the pigments that make blue colors possible. That gene has, of course, been patented.

For years the garden plant industry has echoed some of the same issues that activists are addressing in agriculture. Many of the most showy and colorful flowers are sterile hybrids that cannot bear seed, like the terminator technology used in crops. More recently, plant and flower varieties have been patented, with purchasers warned that any attempt to propagate the plant through cuttings or other means is unlawful. However, the new carnations are the first example of a plant being genetically modified strictly for its flowers.

So far Flourigene claims that the new carnations will only be grown in the company's greenhouses and sold on the cut-flower market, reducing the risk that the gene could be spread to other carnations. It's probably just a matter of time before they, and other genetically modified plants, are released for sale in nurseries. The technology used to create BT corn could also be used for garden plants. And don't forget those RoundUp Ready Roses.--John Chapman